An Irishman’s Mac and Cheese.

Yup, this is SOOOO happening right now. An Irishman’s Mac and Cheese is happening right now!

I normally wouldn’t start chatting your ear off about St. Patrick’s Day inspired recipes this early, but with Easter being in March this year, St. Patrick’s Day recipes need to come out a bit sooner.

Totally fine by me, because umm, when is mac and cheese not a good idea? FYI – it’s always a good idea, but especially on a Monday. 🙂

So even though I don’t mind chatting about this Irishman’s Mac and Cheese, I am kind of bummed that Easter is in March this year. Anyone with me?? It’s totally throwing me off. I mean for one, March is just not “springy” enough for Easter. Come Easter there should be things popping out of the ground and warmer temps. I mean let’s be real, that just doesn’t typically happen by the end of March. Second, I simply like having Easter in April, it adds something special, gives it color and just makes it more, well… fun! UGH. For real though, does this bother anyone else or is it just crazy and insane me?

SIDE NOTE: I just pulled meringue out of my hair and off of my red sweatshirt (that I have been wearing since Saturday). The sweatshirt is covered in so many different foods I can’t even distinguish what they all are any more. To say that I need a shower would be and understatement. My kitchen could probably use a good scrub too, but well, that’s most likely not going to happen…

Alright, but let’s be serious. Are you guys ready for this mac and cheese??? Because it is legit.

Meaning it’s loaded with all things a really good mac and cheese should be loaded with, and then some.

To be completely honest, I don’t know a whole lot about Irish cooking. I know they eat a lot of potatoes, corn beef, cabbage, fish and chips (which are potatoes), but other than that I’m really not all that knowledgable on Irish cooking.

Ohhhh, but I do know they like their stout beers and especially their whiskey.

Basically what I did is took the Irish foods I know (and love) and put them into a mac and cheese…the bestest mac and cheese. I used mass amounts of sharp Irish cheddar, a little bacon, some kale pesto and um well as you can see, a little potato chip crumble situation baked on top. You may be thinking twice about that kale, and maybe even questioning potato chips on top of mac and cheese, but just stop all those thoughts right now. If you don’t like kale, that’s fine, leave it out, but don’t even think twice about omitting those potato chips.

I mean, you love a good baked mac and cheese with a buttery bread crumb on top right?!? Well, this is that mac and cheese only elevated. Traditionally I’m really not all that into potato chips, but there are certain foods that I just love paring them with. They add a delicious salty crunch and when I thought of that salty crunch atop a buttery, cheesy mac and cheese, I couldn’t resist.

It had to happen.

So I created the ultimate “Irishman’s Mac and Cheese”. Think a little stout, a lot of cheese, crispy bacon, kale for greens and flavor (and because I heard somewhere that Irish like dark greens…is this true??), topped with crushed all natural potato chips and baked to cheesy pasta perfection.

Really though, could there be anything better? And on a Monday to boot??

The only thing missing is a little whiskey…but I’m sure that could be arranged.

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4.93 from 14 votes

The Recipe

An Irishman's Mac and Cheese.

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, irish

Keyword: mac and cheese, pasta

It's loaded with all things a really good mac and cheese should be loaded with, and then some.

Instructions

Kale Pesto Slaw

Add the kale to a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Massage the olive oil and salt into the kale for a minute or two. Add the pesto and lemon juice, toss well to combine. Keep stored in the fridge.

Mac and Cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al-dente. You want it to have a bit of bite to it. It will finish cooking in the oven. Drain well.

In the same pot you boiled the pasta, cook the bacon over medium heat until browned and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Drain all but one tablespoon of the bacon grease out of the pot. In the same pot, melt the 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook/bubble for 1 minute, stirring once or twice to avoid burning. Gradually whisk in the beer and cook another minute. Now slowly pour in the milk, whisking until combined. Raise the heat up to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently until the sauce has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in all of the cheese, kale pesto, mustard powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is fully melted (if needed, return the pot to the heat to fully melt the cheese). Stir in the pasta and bacon, transfer to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle on the potato chips crumbs and place the baking dish on top of a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crumbs are golden brown and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let site five minutes (yeah, right). Top with the kale pesto slaw. Dig in!!

this looks super creamy and cheesy (if there wasn’t enough cheese, this recipe would seem like an imposter on this blog!). i’ve been ambivalent about breadcrumbs on top of mac and cheese (they just seem like an extra step with minimal benefits), but i’m feeling very pro-potato chip crumbs (:

Good-looking recipe, even if the potato chips immediately set my mind to thinking panko instead. Then, I wondered, would the Irish use olive oil, or vegetable oil, and would they go for the basil-based pesto? Hmmm, to be determined, but I will definitely try this as directed first.

But I digress: I had an interesting revelation recently involving a family-sized Stouffer’s frozen mac and cheese I copped out of a markdown bin for about $4. Once I got it home and defrosted it, which is not “manufacturer recommended,” I added the juice of some hot pickled carrots and jalapenos, which I usually keep around for all kinds ‘o thins, and a dash of cayenne, in homage to the Father of Macaroni & Cheese, Thomas Jefferson. I gave it a good stir and baked it for about half an hour longer than recommended, moving it down a rack for the last half hour so the top browned but didn’t burn. The extras I added improved the dish greatly, and it served both as a nice entree and as a side for some pork chops later in the week.

I’d suggest looking up Ballymaloe Cookery School – Darina Allen is a LEGEND – or grabbing a copy of The Country Cooking of Ireland by Andrew Colman. Irish cooking is wonderful and isn’t just about the stereotypical stuff! And it’s corned beef, btw : ) . Corning is a process whereby you preserve meat in salt water/brine.

I’d also check out Farmette (she has a new cookbook coming out, looks amazing!) and Cliodhna Prendergast on their blogs or Instagram.

Kale is actually a very traditional Irish food. Colcannon – often mistakenly made with cabbage for Saint Patrick’s Day – is actually supposed to be made with kale.

Oh girl I know what you mean about the kitchen needing a good scrub. I’m about to hire a cleaner because it’s too much for me to tackle right now! 😛 😛 😛 This mac and cheese is the BOMB. Makes me forget about my dirty kitchen.

Shame on you, Molly O’Garza! Fixatin’ on olive oil, pesto, and I know not what, and all this time fergittin’ about the tater crisps! So curb your kale an’ colcannon and get in the spirit of an Amurrican St. Paddy’s Day! ;0)

And for you, E, go back to watching your eponymous TV channel. Yes, it shows.

Perhaps this dish is delicious. I have no idea, nor will I since I don’t have half of those ingredients. If it is tasty, cook on.

What I do know is that beer and potato chips don’t make something Irish. And cayenne pepper certainly doesn’t fall into anything resembling traditional Irish cooking.

Foodies at large: I am so sick of the hot peppers and cilantro kick that foodies everywhere are on. Eat it if you like it, but stop calling dishes with cilantro and/or hot peppers Irish/Italian/Greek/Whatever. Those are mainly used in Tex-mex, indian, and southeast Asian cooking. And stop trying to turn my hot dogs, pot roast and lasagna into some hot spicy mexican/asian pinterest food of the day.

Wow this is quite an interesting take on Macaroni cheese. I just don’t think I could put crisps in my dinner. I should really try it before criticising though 🙂 The pictures look great, I’m not sure that Fish and Chips would be considered Irish either.

As others have mentioned, Rachel Allen is a great Irish cook as well – you should definitely make colcannon and irish stew is delicious too.

Don’t let the haters get to you. It is your blog and your ideas and your cookbook. You devote much time and effort to putting your best out there. Most times well received…sometimes not. It always takes me by surprise when people vent so hatefully online…..I for one am not a purist…..so bring it on! Every idea helps someone else have their own idea or take on a recipe. Keep Rockin’ It!

Seriously, I love to cook and find it one of the most relaxing things in the world. When I was working as a lawyer and had just finished a big case, I’d invariably come home, pour myself a glass of wine, and start in on some big deal or other, usually of the stew/casserole variety. Hours later, I’d have a nice glow, the house would smell great, and we’d all be sitting down to a good dinner – after which I’d promptly fall asleep. If more people put more time into cooking than conniving, there’d be less need for my former profession, and we’d all be better off. Easy for me to say, now that I’m retired!

I’m Irish born and reared…and this is not something we would eat. My dad would look at me like I had four heads if I handed him up something like this for dinner. Irish food is basically a roast and potatoes…every day 🙂

HA I think Irish food has moved on a bit since meat and two veg! I’m Irish born and bred too, and although this is not a traditional Irish recipe it does have “Irish elements” i.e Kale, stout, Irish cheddar. And by the way show me one Irish person who hasn’t had a Tayto (crisp) sandwich! Fair play to you Tieghan for giving it a go! Don’t mind the begrudgers! x

Of course mac & cheese isn’t Irish, but this is still Irish-inspired! I’m mac & cheese obsessed, and I certainly made some similar experiments during the two years I lived in Dublin 🙂 (Strangely though, I was never able to find havarti there.) Just like in any other country, some Irish people are very traditional when it comes to food and others are more adventurous, so don’t worry about the haters. Do check out some of the suggested cookbooks and blogs, though!

I made this for St Patrick’s day dinner and it was soooo good! I wonder how it would be if the entire kale pesto was mixed into the dish before baking? We ended up mixing it together in our bowls anyway. Thanks for a great recipe!

Hi! First time looking at your blog. I love as looking for a good Mac and cheese recipe for a potluck and this one caught my attention. It looks delicious. Question, will this hold well in a crockpot after it is cooked? Maybe in a warm setting?

Also, I can’t believe and I he uppity people giving you a hard time. I’m super Irish and even though it’s not traditionally Irish, I can definitely see the Irish inspiration in this recipe. People need to chill out and keep the trolling for 4chan.

Yes, I think this will be great on the warm setting in a crockpot. I have not tried that, but I don’t see why it would not work. And THANK YOOU! Means a lot and I hope you LOVE that mac and cheese! Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks again! 🙂

Hey I just have to tell you.. you are a cooking goddess. Seriously. I definitely haven’t made all of your recipes, but every single one I have is a favorite of ours (my husband and I). You are a culinary genius and we appreciate you so much!! Thank you so much for sharing your talent. How else can we support you (besides the cookbook, have it)?

been obsessing over this recipe for at least a month. we’ve have a block of irish cheddar in the fridge that I’ve been wanting to make use of and came across this recipe. bought first living basil plant and made it as far as making some walnut pesto AND the kale pesto slaw but left it in the fridge long enough that my refrigerator bandit got to both before i did. “i didn’t know what it was for and it was delicious.” full disclosure…we couldn’t keep our hands off the guiness either. Round two….bought another living basil plant, a can of guiness and got to the recipe last night while everyone else had retired for the evening. the smell alone was mouthwatering. i had a spoonful as it cooled before i put it into the fridge and loved it. i hadn’t tasted it with the kale pesto slaw until this morning when i served it with a poached egg for a breakfast pasta dish and what a difference it makes. love it BOTH ways. i even tasted it cold and enjoyed it as well, but I’m one of those cold pizza eaters too. can’t wait to try more of your recipes. thx

Meet Tieghan Gerard.

I’m Tieghan, the recipes you’ll find here are inspired by the people and places I love most. I try to live simply, eat seasonally, and cook with whole foods. My hope is to inspire a love for amazing food, as well as the courage to try something new!